Show me then your progress in this point. As if I should say to a wrestler, Show me your muscle; and he should answer me, “See my dumb-bells.” Your dumb-bells are your own affair: I desire to see the effect of them.
“Take the treatise on the active powers, and see how thoroughly I have perused it.”
I do not inquire into this, O! slavish man; but how you exert those powers; how you manage your desires and aversions, how your intentions and purposes; how you meet events, whether in accordance with nature’s laws, or contrary to them. If in accordance, give me evidence of that, and I will say you improve… - Epictetus
We become what we constantly aim at, not only with our thoughts and attention, but through our actions. If we truly want what is best for ourselves, we will aim at those things that give us the biggest return on our investment, those things that foster peace, purpose, and freedom. But, if we are to see that return, we cannot stop with mere intellectual ascendence; behavioral change is the only sure indicator of progress.
The cultivation of contentment is one of those investments that produces an exponential return. At times, it can feel like the most difficult virtue to cultivate, but the good news is that we are never without opportunity to put it into practice. Whether waiting in an excruciatingly slow line at the store, enduring the bad moods of our friends and relatives, or simply dealing with less-than-ideal weather, contentment is unique in its universal and constant relevance.
Contentment does not relieve us of the duty to act when appropriate. When the weather is cold, we should dress accordingly. When someone close to us is suffering, we should comfort them. Perhaps there's a shorter line or a self-checkout we can use. But when we've done all that is within our power, contentment frees us from the anxieties attached to the vast array of factors we have no control over. "Having done all to stand," as the Apostle Paul says, it empowers us to "stand."
Contentment, surrendering to the will of Providence as we focus on doing those things that are within our power, becomes synonymous with freedom when it seeps from our intellect into our behavior. It is then that we begin to understand its true value.